Susanna Schick

Susanna is passionate about anything fast and electric. As long as it's only got two wheels. She covers electric motorcycle racing events, test rides electric motorcycles, and interviews industry leaders. Occasionally she deigns to cover automobile events in Los Angeles for us as well. However, she dreams of a day when Los Angeles' streets resemble the two-wheeled paradise she discovered living in Barcelona and will not rest until she's converted the masses to two-wheeled bliss.

Today Zero Motorcycles released their 2018 models. While they don’t look much different from the 2017’s on the outside (except the gorgeous new silver paint!), it’s what’s inside that counts. Like- 10% longer range thanks to new battery chemistry on all ZF7.2 and ZF14.4 models! Zero is also offering quick charging-6 times faster, thanks to the 6kW charge tank accessory for S, SR, DS, and DSR models.

That torque, though…

From Zero: All motorcycles with the compact and lighter weight ZF7.2 power pack offer 11% more rear wheel torque to slingshot ahead of cars and fellow motorcyclists. New gearing and a higher maximum motor rpm deliver the improved performance without any reductions in top speed.In addition, Zero fine tuned the powertrains of the ZF13.0 Zero S and Zero DS to deliver up to 30% more power and torque to amp up acceleration at highway speeds.

I can’t WAIT to see what kind of trouble I can get into on an S with 30% more torque. Even an FXS with only 11% more torque will be amazing. My 2013 FX(S) still delights me with every launch off a light. Plus Firmware updates can now come through the already awesome Zero app. If you don’t already know, the Zero phone app not only works as a supplemental dash, but also enables the rider to manage torque settings, regenerative braking, and top speed. As well as track battery use, of course.

It’s great to see they’re continuing to push battery capacity forward, while also continuing to improve the quality of their components. And the prices are the same as 2017. We’ll have more as the models become available for press demos. And after I replace my 2013 Zero FX(S) with a 2018 Zero FXS. If I can keep the front wheel down long enough to write about it. Find out more about the 2018 lineup here. And read our past coverage here.

Even amateurs can resemble real stunt riders on the Zero FXS!

Red sticker? Green sticker? We don’t need no stinkin’ stickers!

Riding into the future

Yes, you can still pollute all you want on an electric motorcycle. As long as you’ve got a good tire budget.

The Charge Tank. All photos in this story courtesy of Zero Motorcycles.

While the National Park Service has done a lot to stop the damage to this fragile forest, I fear it may be too late. Looking out over Sequoia Kings Canyon from the Kings Canyon Panoramic Point, it seemed almost as many trees were dead as living. The pine scent was missing from the air, too. As the trees dehydrate, they lose their ability to fight the bark beetles that prey on them, hastening their demise. This “Leaf to Landscape” study is the most comprehensive one on the bark beetle epidemic. A ranger I spoke with at the park told me she’s been involved in collecting data for the study.

View of Hume Lake from Panoramic Viewpoint by Robert Verez

Surveying the desiccated forest with tourists from all over the world, I felt as though we were among the last people able to enjoy the Sequoias as a forest. The desertification of this area seems to be progressing rapidly. Although, scientist Diane Six sees the bark beetle invasion as an invitation for trees to adapt. Or die, as many have.

The Redwoods I more frequently visit don’t seem to share the desperation these drier forests have, since they do get a lot more water. Deep in the woods on the San Francisco Peninsula, a stone’s throw from the tech capital of Silicon Valley, the forest is rich and humid, with grand Redwoods surrounded by their healthy saplings growing from sprouts. Because Sequoias are only born in fire, we only saw saplings where there had been fires a couple years ago. It was sad to see so many young adult trees standing dead, mixed in among living trees, as below.

However, as we drove south on General’s Highway toward Visalia, we saw a staggering variety of native Californian trees and plants. Perhaps the evergreens will die off and be replaced by broadleaf plants and trees better suited to capture carbon? That remains to be seen, but the pine scent is already sorely missed. And the water from the snowmelt, as Lake Kaweah, a lake created to ensure the farms of Tulare County have plenty of water, was looking mighty low for having just come out of the second wettest winter California has ever seen.

Panorama of Lake Kaweah

The vast nature of the 631 square mile park makes it impossible to see it all in one weekend, particularly when traveling by car. Most of the park is off limits to all but hikers and equestrians, a good way to preserve such a vital and fragile carbon sink.

We managed to see enough to realize how car-dependent it is for most visitors. However, some improvements have been made. Instead of one central hub, there are a few smaller resort areas which each have all the basics a tourist could need, and plenty of trails to hike as well. There’s also plenty of handicap access, with paved trails to major sights and plenty of handicap parking.

Disappointingly, the LEED gold restaurant in Grant Grove Village that boasts these energy efficient parking spaces (which were always empty) didn’t have charging to go with them. A glance through PlugShare found the only “charging stations” in the park are simply access to 110v outlets in a dark alley next to a tank of diesel fuel. Gross.

While the park is out of reach for most current EV owners, it’s not out of reach for Tesla owners. Sequoia National Park is the perfect candidate for Tesla’s Destination Chargingprogram. The first two stations are free! Tesla could install their solar-powered charging here, then some of the many Tesla owners in Los Angeles could visit and explore the nearby park without contributing to its demise. Meanwhile, tourists from all over the world would see the Teslas as they head into the gift shop. Or as they hold up traffic in a dead tree…

Don’t visit this attraction if you’re in a hurry. I have no idea who these people are, but figured they’d enjoy being here.

As EV owners, we can all do our part to convince more of our friends to make the switch. Guilt won’t do it, lamenting the demise of the forest won’t do it. Better approaches are showing people how much more fun we’re having, and how nice it is to never have to stop for gas, or never having to go in for an oil change and be told you need to spend another $800 for something that doesn’t even exist in an EV.

If you’re reading this blog, you’re probably already an EVangelist. Keep talking the talk, help your friends find deals, do whatever it takes to weaken the stranglehold the oil industry has on us all before all of our favorite forests are dead.

Zero entrusted us with a 2017 DS 13.0 for a month. Robert and I took it through the paces both around Los Angeles and off road. We argued over which was the ultimate urban warrior — the Zero DS or the Zero FXS. I’ve been riding my FX(S)* every day since 2013, and consider it the best streetfighter ever made. Well, the newer FX’s are even better, but I own mine, so that’s an advantage worth keeping when money is tight. Both models are great for daily commuting in a city with some of the worst pavement in America, or if your commute includes dirt roads.

Robert, on the other hand, thinks the DS is the ultimate city bike, as he likes a more planted feel. His other bike is a Triumph Thruxton, a 494 lb beast best suited for bringing a cute bird home from the pub. He’s also ridden the Thruxton on a grand tour of northern Mexico, including in a few miles of sand. He said that riding that bike in the sand was like trying to steer a heavy sled. The DS has far more appropriate tires for sand riding, and is considerably lighter at 413 lbs.

When Biker Chicks Drive Cars

Fiat cut me loose on the streets of LA in a 2016 500e to see if it could be as fun around town as it is on the track. I’ve driven both manual & automatic 500s, and a broad range of other electric cars. None of them as fun as the Fiat 500e. And it’s not just one biker chick saying this, plenty of car guys agree too. Charged magazine has the most comprehensive story on the 500e here. Motorcyclists in California (and most of the world) are spoiled. We never have to sit patiently in traffic, we just “get in where we fit in.” I wanted to see if the Fiat was fun enough to enjoy without being able to lanesplit. I managed to squeeze it into some pretty tight spaces, making it fairly exciting.

But of course Fiat doesn’t want you to know how much fun it is. They’re only supplying them to California and Oregon residents because they have to in order to sell their other vehicles here. They claimed in 2014 to be losing $14,000 on each 500e sold. Which is odd, considering that electric motors are much cheaper to build than gas engines, and batteries are getting cheaper every day. And building electric cars is certainly cheaper than being sued for lying about “clean” diesel. Perhaps they’re accounting for future lost income in the repair bay, where dealers make the big bucks. While auto execs think Fool Cell infrastructure will magically appear and render the ‘ol 110v outlet obsolete, battery EVs continue growing in popularity, both with drivers and governments alike.

Yes, the 500e has a J1772 outlet, but also a 110v adapter neatly tucked away under the micro trunk. I could’ve used the public charging station at the park 1/10th of a mile from home, but it was easier to just use the 110v adapter each night. Fiat USA told me that many customers charge at the office, as more offices have charging, even though California apartment buildings and condominiums are required to allow residents to charge in their on-site parking. While Tesla owners are likely to own their home and garage, 500e owners are more likely to be apartment dwellers.

Most of the days I had the car, I traveled about 50 miles around LA, mostly on surface streets (freeways are usually the slower route) and usually plugged in with about 50% remaining at the end of the day. The manual recommends not using an extension cord, but also says the 110v adapter will shut off if it has any problems. So I plugged it into the same extension cord I normally use to charge my Zero FX. The rain and the extension cord never gave me problems, but the fuse on the outlet I used couldn’t handle the car, the XBOX, lights, and a space heater all at once. It was easy enough to unplug the car while warming up the bedroom.

Testing the Limits of Range and Traction

Fiat had originally offered buyers free car rentals for longer trips, but cancelled this program because nobody used it — because range anxiety is a false fear that keeps the oil industry chugging along. Los Angeles had the worst rainstorm ever during the week I had this car, so I was able to test the limits of traction in water, just as I had on their dry autocross course back in 2013*. The low center of gravity (CoG) and short wheel base make cornering a delight.

The CoG is lower than on the gas 500 because of the battery placement. Many features developed for the 500e have been adopted for the gas 500 as well. This is the second quietest car I’ve ever been in, after the Tesla S. Riding in a Prius after driving this, I thought perhaps the owner had off-road tires on the Prius — it was so loud. The 500e also has improved aerodynamics, again adopted by the gas 500. But one of the best features of the 500e is how easy it is to get the tires to squeal. Sound effects always make a stunt more exciting, even when it’s just launching off a green light fast enough to elicit giggles. Here’s a video of a typical morning commute to downtown LA.

On Sunday, during the biggest rainstorm LA has ever seen, I took my boyfriend for a spin up Angeles Crest Highway, to see how far we could go before we’d have to turn around. There are no Level 2 chargers up there, so I had to err on the side of caution. We also had the heater and heated seats going, which can reduce range by about 10%. With 36% remaining after climbing roughly 3500 ft over 18 miles, as fast as I dared in the rain, I turned the car around and we made our way back down the hill. I’m already missing how easy it is to do U-turns in this car.

We spent enough time stuck behind (drafting?) a slow-moving truck that the range increased. We even gained a couple miles range in the 22-mile trip home, thanks to Fiat’s exceptionally accurate range estimator. Fiat designed it to analyze both your 100 mile average and the average of your last 10 miles. When you’ve got a full charge, it mainly relies on your 100 mile average, but as the range decreases, the predictor relies more on your past 10 miles. To let you know if you’re on the right track, it’s also got up & down arrows next to the range number. Up means you might be doing better than estimated, down means your mileage may be worse than estimated. In fact, I felt so optimistic about the range, we made a detour to the best donut shop in LA and still got home with 11% to spare. It’s always a bummer when that happens and you realize you could’ve been less cautious.

As you can see, I drove cautiously on the Crest, as I’d already discovered just how mediocre the tires were in the rain, and didn’t care to find out how well the car tumbles down a cliff. I drove with traction control on most of the time, but played around with it off on a dry day to see what that was like. It was also fun. Here’s a short video of my favorite rainy day activity:

So Much Bang For The Buck

After a week in the 500e, I would still take this over any other car if I couldn’t ride a motorcycle. Even if I had Tesla money, I’d have a 500e for city driving because it’s easier to squeeze into tight spaces. They’re insanely cheap to lease, and relatively cheap to buy as well. Although Fiat Chrysler won’t disclose 500e sales, Fiat US sales are 24% higher than they were last January. This 2013 article matches the lease pricing a dealer quoted me for the 2017 500e.

The only things I didn’t like about the car were:

1) The stereo forced me to listen to radio every time I turned it on, instead of silence while it connected with my phone. Sure, Sirius radio is comprehensive, but I’d rather listen to my Tidal playlists, thanks.

2) The best thing about the 500e is also a problem in America. It’s small. It’s cute. A little girl in her pink toy car/stroller pointed as I passed, while the burly fireman I gushed about the car to told me his ego wouldn’t fit into it. This was after I told him it’s not too small for someone of his stature. Los Angeles is home to some of the most aggressive drivers in the world. Self included. As a motorcyclist, I’ve noticed that size definitely matters. The more threatening your vehicle looks, the more likely people are to respect your right-of-way or let you cut in front of them. This is why so many people drive SUVs here. So, in the Fiat, I did notice that I got less respect from drivers than I do in my old 4Runner. But I can zip around obstacles a lot more easily in the Fiat, which more than makes up for the lack of size. And I’m sure Kenny Scharf could make it look more threatening.

*In 2013 I drove a Fiat 500e on an autocross course they’d set up at Refuel. It was absolutely the most fun I’d ever had on 4 wheels. I knew if I ever had to drive a car, it would be a 500e. Motorcycles & scooters have been my primary form of transport since 1985. I claw my way through LA traffic every day, wondering why so many people let fear rule their lives. After all, bones heal. Last month I broke my wrist because a driver didn’t see me coming. The most painful part of this was driving my gas-powered SUV (I actually use it to haul bikes) around LA in these dark times. Which is why this review is happening now.

The internet has been abuzz with Elon Musk’s recent proclamation that he will dig a tunnel under the 405 (the busiest freeway in the US) to ease his brutal commute from Bel Air to Hawthorne. While most writers, even ours, are as knowledgable about boring tunnels as Elon is, there are some folks in LA who know all there is to know on boring tunnels, and thanks to the wise voters of Los Angeles, they’re spending our sales tax dollars making traffic a thing of the past.

I spoke with Metro LA’s Dave Sotero, who gave me all the dirt on digging under LA, particularly under the Sepulveda Pass. This story explains a bit more about mass transit in LA, with a nifty gif of her present and future rail lines. The black one includes the tunnel Elon and 330,000 other people want.

G2: So I take it you’ve heard that Elon Musk wants to dig a tunnel under the 405 to make his commute easier. That can’t be cheap, even for a billionaire.

Dave: Thanks to Measure M, there will be more funding for this, but it’s still a very expensive proposal. 50% could come from federal funding if it meets federal criteria, like the purple line extension does.

G2: Can we even count on federal funding for anything that doesn’t support oil companies with the incoming administration?

Dave: This funding could potentially disappear under the incoming administration. Federal funding on transit has been dwindling over past years, causing a lot of other cities to struggle with maintenance costs. We are better funded than a lot of cities thanks to Measure R and now Measure M. (Both draw from sales taxes within LA county.)

G2: What is Metro’s master plan for the Sepulveda Pass? When will you begin building the tunnel Elon wants?

Dave: We haven’t yet begun the planning process for Sepulveda Pass. We’d like it to tie in with the Orange line extension and the Purple line extension. Our long term goals could possibly involve tunnels but would require partnership with private industry (ahem, Elon) because that would help it happen faster. There are many different ways to share construction, ownership, operation of a transportation facility. We have already received some unsolicited proposals that we’re considering.

Dave also told me the most attractive option would be a tunnel which shares with cars, but that it would be cheaper to do a transit-only tunnel. As we learned from the 5-year, $1.1 billion project that widened the 405 to fit 15% more cars, there are now at least 15% more cars using it, so commute times are actually worse. So realistically, if a transit-only tunnel carried 20% of those people (say, to LAX, the hottest destination on the 405), then Elon wouldn’t even need to go underground to enjoy a faster commute.

Digging a tunnel that works for ICE vehicles is harder than digging one strictly for electric rail, just considering the ventilation problems alone. Ask anyone who’s commuted into Manhattan from New Jersey if they enjoy driving through the Lincoln Tunnel with the windows down.

Of course it’d probably be even cheaper to do an elevated rail line, but there’s no way these people would allow that. They barely allowed the freeway to be widened for a carpool lane! Dave also explained that it’s a 10 mile segment we’re talking about, which is a long way to dig a tunnel. Tunnels in LA tend to be shorter due to a lot of factors.

I’d sure like to share my mornings with this guy…

The Nikola Tesla Line

Some people may think it’s tacky to have corporate sponsorship naming rights of metro lines & stations, but come on. If it means a return to 1980 traffic volume by 2025, so what? Digging tunnels that meet earthquake safety code, under a city, is not cheap. So if you want to get to work faster, Elon, either consider a jetpack, or purchasing naming rights to the Metro line you and 330,000 others need most. This 2012 article suggests the same- private investment makes things happen a lot faster.

This is not sponsored content. This is California Desperation. At a time when the CEO of Exxon is being tapped for Secretary of State and the outgoing President has to ban the destruction Putin & Tillerson are eager to unleash on the Arctic Circle and anywhere else they can, everyone who possibly can should be driving electric. This Fashionsta thinks the 500e is the best EV for all on price, looks, and fun factor. The stats on this hottie here.

At Refuel in 2012 I drove a Fiat 500e for the first time and reviewed it here. They set up an autocross course at Laguna Seca and it was absolutely the most fun I’ve ever had on four wheels. I always thought if I had to drive a car I would drive a 500e because they’re so much fun. Well, a few weeks ago I broke my wrist in a motorcycle crash so I have to drive a car now at least for a little while. Desperate, I called my local Fiat dealer to see if there’s any way they could do a short-term lease, as there’s no way I could drive a car in Los Angeles for long-term. The salesman was very helpful and he explained to me that while they don’t do a short-term lease, I might want to hear about their long-term lease…

Fiat is giving away cars

For only $99 a month with a $2,000 down payment, or $59/month with $5,000 down, you can lease a 500e in California for 10,000 miles a year for three years. The only catch is, this amazing deal expires December 31 of this year when the federal tax credit of $7500 expires. Then the price will have to go up accordingly. All thanks to our pathetic federal government, who would rather subsidize oil companies than electric vehicle owners. So the car will probably cost $7500 dollars more after December 31. Unless Trump’s Strategic Advisor Elon Musk talks some sense into Putin’s Puppet.

However the California state tax credit is still in effect, so $2500 of your down payment will be returned to you with your tax return. Which is something to look forward to in 2017. Jalopnik covered this deal here, where commenter Tom McParland included a spreadsheet to show just how much money he’s saving. Many other commenters complained that the 500e is not available in their state. Hey Fiat, you’re missing a LOT of customers here…

Photo courtesy of Fiat USA

Not only is this car ridiculously cheap to lease and loads of fun to drive, it’s also infinitely more reliable than a gas-powered Fiat. As an EV owner I have been astounded at how little work I’ve had to do to my electric vehicle in the 3 1/2 years I’ve had it. It’s such a relief not only not having to go to gas stations but also never having to deal with oil changes, strange things breaking in the motor, problems with the transmission, etc.

And the value of leasing over buying in this case is that batteries are continually getting cheaper and better so why invest in 2016 batteries when 2020 batteries will be amazing? By 2020 you almost won’t even need to own a car in Los Angeles, as the Metro system will be far closer to completion by then. Maybe by 2020, even Elon Musk’s snooty neighbors in Bel Air will approve the tunnel he so desperately needs. Elon doesn’t need to build a tunnel under the 405, because Metro is already planning to do so. They just have to go up against a lot of NIMBYs in his neighborhood. More on that later…

We’re honored to have been invited to cover this event again, at Ford’s expense, as it’s delightful to peek behind the curtain. The most exciting news from Ford is that they’re taking IDEO’s advice to prototype early and often. They’re launching a variety of projects (not vehicles) all aimed at making it easier for people to get from point A to B.

We also got to take some cars for a spin on their test track, including a thrilling ride in a Focus RS with none other than The Stig. After that I wanted to try driving the RS myself again, to see if I could ride more like him. Instead I went to check out the nifty Transit vans that Winnebago had tricked out and imagined how long I could survive in one kitted with On The Go H2O.

Ford On Autonomous Cars

First they came for the assembly line jobs… and now the people driving vehicles built by robots are to be replaced with robots as well. At this year’s Further with Ford conference the big idea was replacing car share & taxi drivers with robots (or AI). Regardless of the fact that only 15% of Americans have actually used a car-share service, Ford is quite bullish on car-share in general. After all, the Crown Vic was the default taxicab for decades. That is, until cab companies realized how much money they could save with hybrids. Here, Bill Ford talks about how Ford is preparing for the future:

Call them “autonomous vehicles”, but even Bill Ford himself said these cars won’t be ready for prime time till 2021. However, he does think they’ll have as big an impact as the invention of the assembly line did! At 9:50 in the video Ford emphasized the ethical issue. For the company programming the car this is also the liability issue. If a human driver chooses to kill a stranger in order to save the lives of their beloved passengers, it’s illegal. But it’s their choice, and their responsibility. If an automaker programs a car to make a certain choice, the family of the victim of that choice could sue the automaker. This liability quandary is probably the single biggest road bump on the way to driverless cars. Will we wait until AI is smart enough to drive for us? And then how long after until AI is making bigger decisions for us? And how does one punish an AI that commits murder?

I used Lyft to get into and out of central Detroit for some time in the city after the conference. I told both of my Lyft drivers what Bill Ford had in mind for their jobs. Both of them happened to be driving Fords, too. I wish I’d recorded the first driver’s response. He erupted into a very passionate diatribe about how robots could never drive cars. It was wonderful to listen to. My next driver, pictured, has driven trucks back and forth across this country. He switched to Lyft driving to spend more time with his family. He also agrees that it’s no job for a machine. He was quick to point out he’s a big fan of technology, and really enjoys the tech in his 2015 Fusion as much as he enjoys the turbo and all-wheel drive. He even showed me it had reverse guidance just like the reverse guidance I’d seen on the trucks.

If better jobs were more plentiful, there wouldn’t be so many people happy to drive you to the airport. If we had a basic income to replace all those lost jobs, people wouldn’t need to drive strangers around to be able to make ends meet.

Multi-modal Mobility

In happier news, Ford is still blazing forth as a mobility provider, same as they were when I last attended this conference in 2013. Ford also now has an office in Silicon Valley to help them improve their position as a technology company. They are working with IDEO to study how they can help cities move. Using San Francisco and NYC as their pilot cities, they’re testing out some new ideas to help you stitch together the best possible route, even if it’s multimodal, as outlined in this graphic, and detailed here.

As more people choose to live in cities, where cars are impractical, and young people in developed countries show less interest in car ownership, automakers have to find ways to remain relevant, and to keep their shareholders happy. Ford is open to whatever that may be. Let’s hope they have a booth at Interbike next week…

On national drive electric day, September 10th, Zero motorcycles celebrated their 10th anniversary. We’ve been covering their progress since the beginning. In fact, my first article for gas2 was a review of the 2009 Zero S. They’ve certainly come a long way since I first reviewed one here, and I was very excited to celebrate with them.

We were treated to factory tours, demo rides of the 2016 fleet, and inspiring talks. I really enjoyed watching Terry Hershner tell his Zero story, as we’ve chronicled parts of it here.

Terry and his faithful sidekick Charger, who rides everywhere with him.

We weren’t allowed to take photos in the factory, but I’ll give you the highlights. The factory has moved to a much bigger facility than the one I visited in 2010, capable of building as many as 20 zeroes per day. Sure, that’s a lot less than the one car per hour Ford’s robots can build, but a lot more people drive cars in America. For now.

The most exciting thing I saw in the factory, aside from the mysterious empty space behind the battery on a 2017 model were the DC tools at every station. These tools are connected to a server and they’re programmed to reach the required torque setting for the bolt being installed. If they don’t get torqued correctly, the builder is decommissioned. Kidding. An alarm notifies the builder that the torque needs to be corrected.

If a bolt is stripped or some other issue occurs, the bike leaves the assembly line and goes to “the hospital” where specialists fix it. Every stage of the build takes about 25 minutes, and Zero has the capacity to build up to 20 bikes a day. One particularly cool trick they have is a UV treated waterproofing they put on all the bolts. This prevents the sort of failure that can really ruin an EV rider’s rainy day ride.

But the best advancement of all has been how Zero has been able to increase range and lower price over the years. Model Year 2016 bikes have as much as 16 times the range of MY07. Prices continue to drop while components improve. 2016 models are $1,000 less than models sold a few years ago.

Yes, I’m a fangirl. I was considering buying a Brammo Empulse until I took a 2013 Zero FX for a spin. I waited that long because I wanted a motorcycle I knew could hold its own in LA traffic. Previous model year Zeroes and the Brammo Enertia never had quite enough power to make me believe they could survive in the urban jungle. The FX(S) is quite a different bike than the sportbikes I had been riding for years. But it’s gobs of fun.

At the Further with Ford conference, Dan Ariely claimed that EV’s are an effective method of reward substitution regarding global warming because of the ego fix (aka “the smug“) But for those of us who enjoy the sport of riding, or driving, it’s really the torque that gives us that instant gratification he speaks of. Helping the planet remain habitable a bit longer is so much easier when it means beating absolutely every single vehicle off the line at every green light you’ve ever launched from. We’ll have more news from Further with Ford in the days to come.

Stay tuned and follow the hashtag #FordTrends on social media to see what develops Monday & Tuesday…

Ford asks:

“Why?” The simplest of questions often leads to the deepest insights and boldest innovations: Why do we constantly crave things that are new and different? Why do we sometimes fail to act in our own best interests? Perhaps most daring of all – why is it that so many want to make the world a better place, yet so few are successful?

Zero will be presenting their new models at the AIM Expo in Orlando today, and we got to peek behind the curtain so you could be the first to read about it. On Monday we joined a call with Zero’s Scot Harden to find out what’s coming for 2016. They’ve made a lot of exciting improvements to the lineup and are introducing two customer-designed bikes, the FXS and DSR, after so many Hollywood Electrics customers couldn’t leave without these upgrades.

I was seriously in the market for a Brammo Empulse. Until I rode a 2013 Zero FX on the streets of Hollywood. I knew immediately, even with knobby tires, this was the perfect urban assault vehicle. So I bought one and had Hollywood Electrics swap those dirt wheels out for wheels that come with the S, and some Pirelli Diablo Rosso II’s. Well, this has become such a popular modification that Zero went ahead and made it permanent for 2016- the Zero FXS, a proper Supermoto bike.

The FXS features the new IPM motor, suspension components from the DS and comes stock with Pirelli Diablo Rosso II tires. The new FX and FXS also have taller handlebars. I just hope they’re narrower on the FXS, as I was smoked by some kid on a fixie lanesplitting through DTLA because his bicycle was so much narrower than those massive bars. Reviewing the 2016 Zero FXS on the streets of LA for your edification will be one of my greatest pleasures.

The Z- Force motor has been dramatically redesigned to deliver power more efficiently and cool more rapidly. The patented Interior Permanent Magnet (IPM) motor has the magnets mounted in a new formation to significantly improve cooling under hard riding conditions. This will be especially valuable to racers but also to riders whose only mode is “ride it like you stole it”.

The horsepower and torque haven’t changed on any of the Zero models, but the motor can use all of those ponies for longer periods of time, as long as the battery is still up for it. If not, you’ll still get the governor kicking in to throttle you back to a speed more likely to get you to your destination.

For 2016 Zero has improved the battery capacity of the S and DS models by 4%, but the FX line with its swappable batteries now boasts a whopping 14% more battery life. This is no small feat. But if that’s still not enough juice for you, and you want something a little cheaper than the Power Tank, Zero now offers the Charge Tank. This on-board charger comes with a J1772 and can triple the charging speed! You don’t even have to connect the regular plug to an outlet, the Charge Tank automatically connects to the on-board charger and works through that as well. The Charge Tank is also backward-compatible with 2015 Zero S and DS models in place of their Power Tank. And Power Tanks from 2015 can fit 2016 models.

With Zero’s Charge Tank, and startup DigiNow having just announced their Super Charger accessory, it’s clear a lot of electric motorcycle owners are looking for a faster charge more than the weight (and cost) of extra batteries. The $1900 Zero Charge Tank can fit where the $2674 Power Tank (extra batteries) would go. And it’s a lot cheaper than the batteries. This proves that Zero is listening to their customers and finding that many of them would like to go for a long ride and stop for a quicker charge than what a 110v outlet will give.

Zero continues to offer the highest energy density batteries in the entire EV industry. Take that and stick in your SUV, Elon. All these improvements are actually costing less in some ways. The more popular SR and FX models retain their 2015 prices, while the S and DS are each $1,000 cheaper than in 2015. The FXS will retail at the same price as the FX- $8,495 for one battery (3.3) or $10,990 for two (6.5). Don’t be cheap and think you’ll be ok with only one battery. You won’t. And 27 hp is a LOT less than 44, even with 70 ft-lbs of torque in a super-light sub-300lb. package.

The DS also gets a sportier version in the DSR (above)- This high-performance dual sport features the new IPM motor, ZF13.0 batteries, 56% more torque and 25% more power than the DS. Zero continues their fleet program, with the following lineup …

… and here’s a handy chart of how the 2016 bikes compare to each other on the basics. The details should be up on Zeromotorcycles.com soon.

Zero Motorcycles 2016 Pricing

Last week, Move LA invited Mayor Eric Garcetti and many other esteemed guests to discuss the potential for Measure R2, the next step in funding (fixing) Los Angeles’ transportation woes. Measure R is a half percent sales tax approved in 2008, slated to bring in as much as $40 billion over 30 years. Since 2008, it has helped rapidly increase LA’s metro system.

First let’s talk about where this $90 billion is supposed to come from. In the most unaffordable city in America, where most residents spend over half their income on rent or mortgage, few have any left over to spend on anything else. This is reflected in the BEA’s data for Los Angeles’ GDP. 17.8% comes from real estate transactions, 5% from retail sales. All the while the real estate boom in Los Angeles continues to draw foreign and corporate investors, forcing Angelenos further afield to find affordable housing, thus exacerbating the traffic problems and the need for more rail lines.

So yeah, let’s tax something that will make it take longer to pay for the massive rail system Metro plans to build with this money. Let’s tax the people who can barely afford to pay rent instead of the investors holding the LA economy ransom. Perhaps instead of half a percent on retail sales, how about 10% on real estate sales to investors, and on AirBnB income, but 0% to people buying their primary residence?* That would build us the best Metro system in the world, in probably a fraction of the time it’d take to get the money from .05% of retail sales. Well, unless that was from the sales of marijuana, the fastest growing industry in Los Angeles.

If Measure R2 passes, the good news is Garcetti and others swear it won’t be used to build more freeways. They’ve finally learned their lesson after the 405 widening debacle. The billion dollar (plus!) project took years to complete. And now that it’s done, it has slowed average commute times by one minute. Because as everyone knows, if you build it, they will come. So Measure R2 is all about the rail lines and great streets they want to build to help LA toward a car-free future.

As recently as 2008, they were talking about silliness like tunnels for cars under the 405 and finishing the 710. Now that talk has finally evolved to speak solely of underground rail lines through these routes. Metro is currently tunneling underneath Wilshire Blvd, the busiest bus route in the county, to extend a subway line to the sea, despite Beverly Hills’ best attempts to stop it.

Mayor Eric Garcetti gave us some great nuggets in his presentation:

The average car in Los Angeles carries 1.1 people. If it went to 1.6 people, there would be no traffic.

The separated busway they’re planning for Wilshire will also be open to automated cars.

Waze and ATSAC are now partnering to help find hit & run perpetrators. Considering most of those victims are pedestrians and cyclists, this is a huge step toward making those modes safer.

Installing a thorough county-wide rail system and a network of streets that are safe and pleasant for cyclists and pedestrians will accomplish the goal of eliminating traffic without trying to crowd all your co-workers into your Fiat500e.

As Garcetti’s DOT General Manager pointed out here, certain LA streets are like that creepy, bad Uncle who everyone hates and avoids. But he’s family, so we let him be. Well, LA is finally ready to send all those dysfunctional streets to rehab. Many have already gone and are all the better for it. Move LA posted a link of all the tweets with the hashtag #TranspoConvoLA for a more intimate look at what the conversation was all about.

* Yes, landlords could pass this on to their renters, but with the glut of new apartment buildings about to come on to the market, all vying for those tech workers, it will soon be hard for them to raise rents any higher.

The Hammer Museum at UCLA hosts weekly talks on hot topics. Being a huge fan of turning Los Angeles into a car-free city, I was eager to hear Seleta Reynolds, our new General Manager at the Department of Transportation. Mayor Garcetti stole her from San Francisco after she helped turn that city into a cyclists’ paradise while also shortening car commute times. Seleta and Janette are those smart chicks with an awesome sense of humor and wit you look forward to sitting with at parties. I could listen to them talk about transportation planning all day.

These rockstars of urban planning spoke openly and with great passion and humor about how to change the way a city gets around. This is crucial to Los Angeles, as weather refugees continue to pour into the Golden State, flooding our streets with cars. As more people choose to live in cities, primarily for their walkability and short commutes, more people are choosing to go car-free. Downtown Los Angeles has had an astounding turnaround in the past decade, going from a terrifying slum people couldn’t leave fast enough to an exciting and vibrant city core most of us can’t afford to live in. A huge draw for people is the ability to walk or bike to work, dinner, errands, etc.

Yes, people do walk in LA. And they ride public transit, and bicycles, too, in growing numbers. While the city is rapidly expanding its cycling infrastructure, neighboring cities still have a long way to go. This is a ghost bike on Glendale Blvd in Glendale, the city whose drivers are the most dangerous in the entire state. Los Angeles County is in the midst of a massive transformation, a transformation that could make it eclipse both Minneapolis and Portland as America’s #1 cycling city. It’s not like we have to ride in snow or rain. Ever. Having two cyclists as Mayors back to back certainly helps.

The most shocking news of 2014, as you probably heard, is that Harley Davidson beat all the Japanese OEM’s to the electric motorcycle market. While they claim the Livewire is not scheduled for production, they do have a large demo fleet touring the nation. At the International Motorcycle Show in Long Beach, CA I took one for a spin.

The demo route was a short jaunt through Long Beach, just enough to get a little taste of what the Livewire can do. Although part of the route was on the Grand Prix course, we weren’t really allowed to open it up to full capacity, but instead were led at a chill cruiser pace appropriate for the bike and the neighborhood.

Harley worked closely with leading electric powertrain developer Mission motors and the motor is excellent. The power delivery is smooth, but more impressively so is the regenerative braking. On many other electric motorcycles, especially my superlight Zero FX, full regen requires a delicate throttle roll off.

With the Livewire, you’ve got equally strong braking but it’s smooth as silk regardless of how suddenly you close the throttle. The mechanical brakes work fine too. The motor has a sound, louder than the Zero and quieter than the Energica. While the Energica sounds like some kind of alien spaceship, and can get annoying, the Livewire sounds like a proper electric motorcycle.

The bike is more café racer style than anything else. It’s low slung and has a fairly long wheelbase and excessively wide rear tire. This made for slow, heavy turns compared to the sportier electric bikes I’ve ridden. When I returned, I mentioned this and was told the steering gets noticeably heavier with as little as two psi missing. The mechanic checked and sure enough my bike was down 2psi. Another rider felt the same, but the two others on our ride said it turned fine. All of us are experienced riders.

Goofing off on the job, it’s how we keep ourselves entertained.

As Mark Gardiner wrote, this shows that Harley is trying bold new avenues to reach new customers. As their major fan base is aging and young hipsters go for the British (old and new) or vintage Japanese bikes, Harley knows they need to do something pretty different to show they’re not just for creepy old men anymore. I used to like Harleys until I worked across the street from a restaurant that was popular with the RUB’s (Rich Urban Bikers).

They’d rev their engines for a good 20 minutes before taking off, leading me to never want to hear another Harley or have anything to do with the sort of men who ride them. What’s great about the Livewire is that riders can pose all they want and actually have conversations with passers-by instead of annoying them.

Check out their tour schedule here and sign up to take one for a spin. You’ll notice they’ll be in Miami for Art Basel, but weren’t in Daytona for speed week, a popular vacation spot for old-school Harley riders. Would you buy an electric Harley? Why or why not?

I spoke with Harley’s Media Relations Manager Jen Hoyer, and she said the Livewire has had a very positive reception everywhere they’ve taken it. Full interview is here:

So you know all those upgrades you did to your 2014 Zero S, SR, or DS to make it really kick ass? Well, for 2015, that’s all stock, including 10% more range you didn’t get. Unless you’re pulling a Terry Hershner. He did just complete the first Electric Iron Butt, on a modified Zero S. The FX doesn’t get more range because they still haven’t figured out how to stuff more energy into those swappable battery packs. All in good time… The same four models make up the line, the S, SR, DS and FX. The red is a bit darker, while the yellow and orange bikes are a bit brighter and warmer.

For police and security customers, there are police versions of the S, DS and FX. the new FXP, an FX with all the bells and whistles (literally) a cop bike would need. And for our brothers at arms, there’s the MMX, a military grade version of the FX, developed solely for military customers. Hopefully only the good guys. I’d hate to see my bike in the wrong hands. Zero’s Scot Harden held a conference call with some of us to discuss the new models. He mentioned that police and military are very strong customer segments for them, and they expect those orders to double over the next year.

All Zero models now come with fully adjustable Showa suspension, developed over the past three years specifically for Zero. I haven’t noticed a problem on my 2013 FX, as the bike is so light and flickable anyway. On the S and SR’s I’ve ridden, however, the bike didn’t feel that solid, especially at high speeds. So it will be nice to experience an improved suspension. Compression, rebound, and preload are all adjustable for both the forks and the shock. Harlan Flagg of Hollywood Electrics tells us they’ve modified the suspension on many customer’s bikes, so he’s very excited about the improvements coming for 2015.

I fully intend to attempt to ride a 2015 Zero FX up as many staircases as I can. There are plenty here in LA…

The entire Zero line also come stock with Pirelli tires. The S gets their Sport Demon tires, while the sportier SR gets the grippier and taller profile Diablo Rosso II, an awesome dual compound I’ve been running on all my street bikes for years. They heat up quickly and grip very well. The dual compound provides even more stickiness on the sides for maximum traction at full lean angle. These are the tires I paid a mechanic to put on the 2014 SR before I even took it to Refuel at Laguna Seca. The cast wheels are also redesigned, with a sharp new design.

For 2015, Zero FX owners will also be able to buy any of the accessories Zero sells to their Police customers for the FXP. This means an rack for that Givi top case you can’t live without, a flyscreen, crash bars… Now if they’d just sell us all the siren and PA system…

All 2015 Zero models also come equipped with Bosch ABS. Although regenerative can provide plenty of stopping power for normal conditions, sudden stops and riders who like to play hard will require excellent brakes. It can be turned off, hopefully with the swipe of a finger on the app. I’ve never felt the need for ABS on a motorcycle. A good motorcyclist knows their bike’s limits, how much braking to use when. Shoot, I’ve even done a stoppie on my 177 HP Yamaha R1 in LA traffic to avoid being doored, and no harm came of it. Still, the European Union, in their infinite wisdom, has decreed that all motorcycles sold in the EU from 2016 onward, will be equipped with ABS. Yawn. At least you can turn it off and still do stoppies and back it into turns at will.

I asked Scot Harden what all this would add up to, and he said the 2015 models MSRP’s are only about $300-$350 more than the 2014’s. This is great news, as it could mean the cost of batteries is declining for Zero. I also asked them about fastener quality, as that has been a bit of an issue on some bikes. Harden explained that they’re now using a higher quality of fasteners. They are all ISO spec structural fasteners (class 8.8 and above), and Zero have improved upon the use of button heads on frequently serviced joints. In addition to this, they now use DC tools for maximum threading and torque precision on installation.

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The content produced by this site is for entertainment purposes only. Opinions and comments published on this site may not be sanctioned by, and do not necessarily represent the views of Sustainable Enterprises Media, Inc., its owners, sponsors, affiliates, or subsidiaries.